"H-how many credits did he say again?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I don’t think I heard him clearly, but he said five credits."

"He must have misspoken. There’s no way he is asking such an extortionate price."

The freshers mumbled, clearly unwilling to believe the ridiculous price Vlad had demanded.

"I repeat, five credits per book," Vlad said in a loud and clear voice. This time, the revolt came in an instant.

"Do you even hear yourself? Don’t push your luck too far.

" "It’s a completely unreasonable price. Even after obtaining the book, we will receive only three credits. How could we pay you five credits for it?"

"He is just playing with us. He didn’t want to exchange the books in the first place. He planned to keep them all along."

The crowd shouted, barely restraining themselves from beating Vlad to a pulp. Some of them even turned away, giving up on the syllabus altogether.

"Guys, surely you aren’t thinking of rejecting a profitable deal," Vlad said with a playful tone that snapped half the crowd back, the sheer preposterousness of his words catching them off guard.

Before the crowd could abandon the treasure hunting rules and actually come to throwing hands with Vlad, he explained his reasoning. "Max, how much will it cost to buy the books from the library later?"

"The first semester books cost the same price the seniors had set for finding them. Three credits," Max replied.

"So from a credits standpoint, one book in the treasure hunt is worth six credits. Three from the reward and three as the actual price of the book. I’m asking for five credits, which still leaves them with one credit of profit."

Max nodded in agreement. "It will cost them more if they buy the books later."

Both shook their heads with a deep sigh and spoke simultaneously, "Tsk... tsk... And we even accounted for their profits."

The retreating students froze in their tracks. Vlad and Max’s words actually made sense. It was as though they were receiving the books at a one-credit discount per book. Still, something about it made them furious. Perhaps it was the offensive smiles Vlad and Max wore, or their predatory gazes that made them feel like trapped prey; either way, they could not bring themselves to accept the deal.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," Vlad said, noticing the crowd seemed convinced but still hesitant. "For the first fifty customers, we will exchange the books at four credits per book."

That was the final nail in the coffin.

"Tch, I need to find the hidden treasure as well. I can’t waste any more time here," a boy from the group muttered. "I’ll exchange it."

"Good, good," Vlad nodded in satisfaction. "Since you are our first customer, a special offer for you. You only need to pay three credits per book."

He made sure everyone heard him. He needed to show them, psychologically, exactly what they had lost by hesitating.

"Oh, thank you for the generous offer," the boy said, appearing genuinely pleased with Vlad’s offer.

Vlad provided him with the books he needed. In exchange, the boy wrote his name and the amount he owed at the back of Vlad’s treasure map, using the pen attached to the back of his own map.

On the reverse side of every treasure map, along with an attached pen, a table with two columns was printed: Name, and Amount to Pay. Below it, the rules of trading were written out.

The client must write their name and the amount of credits they owe at the back of the provider’s treasure map, using the pen given to them.

It was a kind of contract the seniors had devised to facilitate trading between freshers, since none of them possessed credits yet. To ensure authenticity and non-repudiation, the ink of each pen carried a unique mana signature.

Now that someone had actually made a trade, the other students began signing the contract as well. Meanwhile, Max announced the names of the freshers whose uniforms they had in their possession.

For the uniforms, they demanded either a hidden treasure or fifty percent of the credits their victims—ahem, customers, would earn by the end of the day.

Naturally, this was met with retaliation and curses from the poor souls whose uniforms they held.

But the freshers signed regardless. No one wanted to cross-dress or show up in a maid’s outfit on their very first day at the academy.

"Bro, should we really be doing this? We’re going to make enemies out of every first year," Max said to Vlad in a low tone, as each student who signed made sure to hurl a few choice words at them as a parting gift.

"There’s a phrase my father always says,"Vlad replied, handing a bundle of books to his latest customer.

He closed one eye and said with a sideways smirk, "If you ain’t making enemies, you ain’t making money."

"Ooh! Your father sounds like a deeply enlightened man," Max said, visibly impressed.

"Well, I can’t deny that," Vlad chuckled. "Who do you think I learned the fine art of extor—trading from?"

"So this is what you were scheming, commoner." A voice cut through the crowd, drawing everyone’s attention. It belonged to Leo Roosevelt, a boy with a heavy frame and a round face. "This treasure hunt was organised by the seniors so we could familiarise ourselves with the campus and grow closer to our peers through trading and partnership. You monopolised our books and uniforms and are now demanding exorbitant prices, defeating the entire purpose of Orientation."

He pushed through to the front of the crowd. "But no more. I, Leo Roosevelt, will not allow you to continue this scam of yours."

"And what exactly will you do?" Max retorted with a smirk. "Attack us?"

"Hah. Only a fallen house or a lowly commoner would resort to such undignified measures," Leo said, his tone thick with self-importance.

He reached into the space ring on his finger, produced a uniform, and declared, "I am asking for all the books here, along with an eighty percent share of your contract earnings, in exchange for this uniform."

On the small golden rectangular badge at the chest pocket of the blazer, the name Vlad Lumberjack was engraved in black.

---

"Miss President, relocating uniforms is against the rules," Sophia said with a frown, one hand resting on her hip.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Vice President," Seraphina replied, sitting cross-legged on the branch with a serene smile.

The two were perched on a branch deep within the Grimveil forest, watching the distant commotion below.

"What did Vlad do to end up on your bad side?" Sophia asked with a sigh.

"Nothing much," Seraphina answered vaguely.

Her pink eyes stayed fixed on Vlad from afar, her smile slowly widening as she whispered, "What will you do now... Hero Vlad?"